


Reflected

by TiBun



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Bucky Barnes as Captain America, Captain America Steve Rogers, Clint Barton Birthday Bash Bingo 2020, Crossing Timelines, Deaf Clint Barton, Duplicate characters, F/M, Female Clint Barton, One Shot, universe swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: Clint had no plans for celebrating his birthday, and except for Nat, the team wasn't even aware of it. He wasn't expecting anything to surprise him, least of all one that would  suddenly throw him into an alternate timeline where Captain America wasn't who he thought it was and he, apparently, was born a she.Clio had plans for her birthday, and she wasn't expecting to suddenly find herself switched with a male version of herself.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58
Collections: Clint Barton Birthday Bash





	Reflected

**Author's Note:**

> Clint Barton Birthday Bingo. Prompt square #2: Surprise.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, I only explore the possibilities.

Clint Barton sighed, wondering, not for the first time, why he was where he was. It was his birthday. He should be having fun as a small self-celebration. He could be at the range, or on his couch with a nice pizza and his dog, watching the Great British Bake Off, or even hanging out with Nat painting toenails. Anything. But no, he was down in Tony’s lab, listening to Tony bitch at Strange who had magically popped himself over with whatever trick he had that allowed him to just show up.

“Your so-called magic bullshit is fucking with my carefully constructed science!” Tony was screeching. And to be fair, it did seem that way. Tony had been testing out a new thingamabob when Stephan Strange had shown up, and soon after, the thing had started sparking and there was swirls of colors. It really didn’t look safe or stable.

“I assure you, Stark, it is not me that is messing with your project.” Stephan insisted.

Clint sighed, tuning out their argument and pushed himself up to leave. He really didn’t know why he was there, after all, and Tony clearly had forgotten he was there in order to butt heads with the local sorcerer. Science and magic just never seemed to mix well, and Tony was very passionate on where he stood on the issue.

Clint could relate on some level. He wasn’t a fan of magic, himself. He’d gotten burned by it too many times. He was just a guy with a bow. He didn’t deal with magic nonsense.

As he walked past the device going haywire with the possible magic, the swirling colors suddenly reflected his likeness and he stopped, staring at the magically mirrored image of himself that slowly started to change, features growing more delicate, hair longer and pinned up in curls. He stared at his feminine-looking reflection, testing it with movements before, without thinking that it was most likely a horrible idea to mess with something so obviously magic-related, he reached out to touch the mirroring fingertips of his reflection.

* * *

Clio Barton very, very rarely got herself all ‘dolled’ up. Preferring the comfort of sweatpants and T-shirts with an oversized hoodie if the weather demanded it. She’d only spend as little time as possible in the mornings, tossing her hair back in a tail, and only touching makeup when she knew she had to look ‘presentable’.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy looking cute, but getting extra sleep in the mornings was much preferable to spending that time making herself look nice. Especially if some threat to the world reared its ugly head and she’d just end up sweating it all off alongside the rest of the Avengers team. And afterwards, she was never the team member the press wanted to interview. That was always Iron Man or Captain America who had to smile and look handsome for the cameras. Clio got to hang back and help the police round up the bad guys that were taken down, or help the paramedics with injured civilians. She didn’t have to worry about how pretty she looked for that.

But tonight was different. It was date night; their first real date if they didn’t count all the date nights in which the press and public wouldn’t bother them.

They had been dating for three years already, and Clio was perfectly fine staying home in her pajamas, curled up on the couch together to watch a movie. But she was dating a guy straight out of the 1940’s, and he was itching to take her on a proper date night out for her birthday.

Clio could already see the next morning’s headlines:

**Captain America Dances the Night Away with Hawkeye**

The fact that they were together would be everywhere. It made her a little nervous. It’s not the sort of attention she liked to have on her, but he wanted to take her out dancing, and she would do anything to see him smile like he had when she agreed.

So, with Tony’s help (and his wallet), she found a perfect 40’s style dress in a wonderful shade of purple along with some matching shoes and jewelry. She also spent hours with a youtube video, watching, rewatching, and reattempting to pin her hair up in some 40’s style curls until they looked decent enough. It had taken her so long that when she got to her makeup, she opted to just do her usual ‘look nice’ makeup look. It wasn’t 40’s, but the 40’s theme to her look was just to be a nice surprise for her boyfriend.

The lights attached to her doorbell flashed and she reached over to where she kept her hearing aids to push them in her ears, “Come in, I’m almost ready!” she called out as she flipped the aids on, just in time to hear the door open and close again.

“How ready is your ‘almost ready’? Should I get comfortable and have JARVIS put something on the TV for me?”

“Oh ha, ha. I’ve been getting ready for hours. I really am almost done, you know! I’ve just a few finishing touches!” She smiled, shaking her head as she turned back to her reflection to double-check that her hair and face were in order.

And then the smile fell off her lips, her eyes widening as her reflection shifted until she was sure she was looking at a male version of herself; the same Stark-made purple hearing aids in his ears, hair short and messy, jaw wider and covered in a light stubble… He was different but yet—the same. He was her, or, a version of her. And he matched her movements perfectly as she tested the reflection. It was so surreal, and she couldn’t help but reach out, touching her painted purple fingertips to unpainted ones.

As soon as their fingers made contact, the world seemed to drop away from them both, and she felt like she was drowning in nothing.

And then the world slammed back into her and she threw herself back with a startled cry, finding herself tripping over a table full of random parts for Tony’s next Iron Man suit or whatever it was he was working on.

“Barton?” Tony’s alarmed tone caught her attention and she looked up with wide eyes at him.

“What the fucking fucked up devices are you playing with, Stark?” she demanded. She had been in her bedroom, in her apartment in the tower, and now she was suddenly on a whole different floor in Tony’s lab.

Tony looked increasingly confused as he looked at her where she was on the floor with the overturned table and surrounded by parts and tools.

“Barton?” he asked again.

“What?” Clio huffed, pushing herself up.

“You look…”

She rolled her eyes; did Tony really not think she could clean up nicely? Well, she wasn’t all dolled up for the Star Trek nerd who had way too much money to play around with making some transporter to beam people around the tower.

“JARVIS, mind getting Capsicle down here? It seems we have a situation.” Tony said.

“Of course, sir. He is on his way.”

Clio huffed, crossing her arms, but relaxing. She felt disoriented from being beamed around the tower, but she was going to try very hard not to let it ruin date night.

And then the doors slid open and a man that very much was _not_ Captain America strolled in.

Clio grabbed the knife she had strapped to her leg under the skirt of her dress. It wasn’t her bow, but any weapon was better than none.

And how the _hell_ did the god-damn Winter Soldier get all the way to Tony’s lab without Jarvis sending off an alert?!

She readied her knife and chucked it at Steve Rogers, cursing as the soldier yelped in surprise as he very narrowly dodged the attack and the blade dug deep into the drywall behind him.

She expected Tony to back her up—she didn’t expect him to suddenly grab _her_ , twisting her arm back behind her back and shoving her to her knees.

What the hell?

* * *

Clint cried out as he tumbled back off a stool and landed with a thud on the floor. Groaning, he rubbed his head and looked around, finding himself in his bedroom, but...were those a pair of purple high-heeled shoes? He blinked at them and reached out to pick one up.

Yup. That’s exactly what they were. And okay, they were kinda fabulous, and he probably would wear them for fun, maybe with Natasha over to hang out for a super spy night in, but what were they doing in his room? In fact, the shoes weren’t the only thing different once he sat up and looked around better. A vanity with hair and makeup products scattered across it was sitting next to his dresser, dirty clothes were actually in a hamper, and there was a Captain America stuffed bear sitting on the bed which was actually made up nicely.

Clint stood, holding the shoe in both hands as he took in all the changes to his bedroom when a knock startled him at the door.

“Babe? You okay?”

Clint frowned, he didn’t know that voice…

“Babydoll?” the door started to open and Clint dove for the bed, reaching under and grabbing the bow he knew was there, pulling it out and notching an arrow. He pulled back, still on his knees when the door fully opened and the god-damned _Winter Soldier_ stood there in a suit of all things.

“Didn’t your handlers ever tell you that this tower is a Hydra-free zone?” Clint hissed at James ‘Bucky’ Barnes.

The soldier blinked and sighed, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, “I think you’re a little confused.

“James Barnes; former best friend of Steve Rogers, thought to be killed in action during World War Two, resurfaced as Hydra’s Fist, the Winter Soldier. Possibly brainwashed, which, I feel for you, man, I know how sucky that is first hand, but still doesn’t mean I won’t take you down.”

“I see. You have me all figured out, hu? Well, then, tell me, who are you and why are you here?”

“You know who I am. Probably read my file before coming here.”

“I really don’t. You aren’t who I expected to see when I opened the door. But the longer you talk, the more of an idea I am getting. JARVIS, can you send out the word to assemble here in Barton’s apartment.”

“They are on their way, Captain Barnes.”

The Soldier sighed, his head falling back as he ran his hand through his short dark hair. His hand that should have been metal, but wasn’t. “So much for date night…”

Clint tightened his grip on the bow, arrow still trained on the man. What the fuck was going on?

* * *

“Steve Rogers.” Clio scowled as she sat slumped in a chair, surrounded by members of the Avengers who were all looking at her like she had two heads—even Nat seemed unsettled. The only member of the team that was missing was Bucky himself. Though Banner was a woman, which brought up an interesting image of what Hulk would look like. “Former best friend of Bucky Barnes, thought to be killed in action during World War Two, resurfaced as Hydra’s Fist, the Winter Soldier. Possibly brainwashed, which, I feel for you, man, I know how sucky that is first hand, but still doesn’t mean I like the idea of you in the room where I have all my weapons taken away from me and we have no idea if Hydra’s all up in your brain. Come on, Nat, just give me back my knife or go grab my bow! You know I hate not being armed! And why am I the one being treated like the criminal here?” she finished with a grumpy, displeased glare at the blond man sitting directly across from her.

Nat sighed and sat herself on the edge of the table in what had become an interrogation room. “Steve Rogers is Captain America.” she said bluntly, “I think it’s pretty clear to us all at this point that you are the Barton from a different timeline.”

“A different Barton...Are we not on a first name basis here in your timeline?”

Nat shrugged, “Our Barton is a guy. You probably don’t have the same first name. But I can call you Clint if you want, I suppose.”

“Clio Barton, aka the amazing Hawkeye.”

“Nice to meet you, Clio.” The Sol—Steve said, “Can you tell us what you remember before you suddenly turned up in Tony’s lab?”

Clio slumped even more in her seat, arms hanging limply, “Aww date night, no…” she sulked a moment as she realized for the first time that she was, in fact, missing her date with Bucky before pushing herself up with a shrug.

“I was getting ready for my date with Bucky. He really wanted to take me out dancing in some cute 40’s style date. Fuck, I wonder how he’ll react to finding out his date is suddenly a guy. Dude-me better enjoy the date!”

“Bucky.” Steve said, his voice strained and tight.

“Captain America, at least in my timeline. Strange to think that that title belongs to you here and—oh fuck, does that mean Bucky’s Hydra’s brainwashed assassin here?”

Steve looked haunted, and Clio took that as a confirmation. She hated knowing that. Imagining Bucky with cold dead eyes and a deadly metal arm...his personality locked away so tight that he’s left an empty shell…

“We’re getting off topic.” Tony said, trying to steer them back to the actual issue they were faced with. Clio was grateful, but she still wished that this timeline’s Bucky could be freed from Hydra. But she knew it wasn’t so easy. Bucky had tried so many times to reach Steve, to bring him back to himself...to get his best friend back… This Steve was probably living those same struggles with his Bucky.

“Sorry. Uh, So I was getting ready, Bucky was waiting for me when I got...distracted by my mirror…” she paused to think back. The memory was a bit fuzzy, she hadn’t really remembered it until she tried looking for it. “My face changed in it...I looked like a guy—your Clint I think he probably was—and it was just so strange I reached out to touch the glass but instead felt fingers and then everything just overwhelmed me and the next thing I knew, I was in Tony’s lab thinking he was messing around with Star Trek tech or something.”

“Oh, that would be fun.” Tony smirked, “Maybe after we get you back to your own timeline, though.”

* * *

“Sorry, I just can’t wrap my head around it. _You’re_ Cap? Steve _isn’t_ ? _And_ you’re dating me, who is a chick?”

“Can we get back to this machine the other me had been working on that reacted strangely and decided to timeline-swap you with our Barton?” Tony stressed, “I want to beat myself in trying to swap you back, and other me has an unfair advantage right now!”

“Of course you would want to one-up yourself.” Bucky sighed, glancing over at Tony.

“I like a challenge.” Tony shrugged, “Now, come on, Robin Hood, tell me everything!”

Clint raised an eyebrow, “You really think I understood even a fraction of what goes on in _any_ Stark lab? All I know is that it was reacting strangely to probably Magic. Other Tony was convinced it was Strage who was fucking with it but Strange insisted that it wasn’t his magic.”

“Wait, Strange is a person, not just an...event type of thing?” Tony asked.

“Stephan Strange, sorcerer dude. Not part of the Avengers, but he helps us out when magic is involved with threatening the word Uh, other Tony doesn’t get along with him much.”

“Great, we don’t have a sorcerer…why don’t we have a sorcerer? Seems magic would be nice to have on the team!” Peter said, fiddling with one of his web shooters.

Tony gasped, “You would embrace such nonsense, Pete? But you’re our little science bro! Bruce, Brucie-bear, can you believe this?”

Bruce shrugged, “Magic might be explained by science we haven't discovered yet. But that’s besides the point. It sounds like science and magic mixed to switch our Barton with this Barton. If that’s the case, we don’t have everything we need to swap them back, and the other you would have to work with that Strange guy to fix this.”

“We don’t need magic! Science is enough!” Tony flat-out pouted.

* * *

“Aw, other me, yes!” Clio suddenly gushed out as she stepped into her—clint’s apartment in the tower, only to be greeted lovingly by a lab with a limp and one eye. “He has a dog! Why don’t I have a dog? I’m so jealous!”

She dropped to her knees and ruffled her hands through the dog’s fur before checking the tags. “Lucky! What a good boy you are, so good. Love of my life!”

“Yup, no doubt about it, you’re Barton, alright.” Steve’s amused tone spoke up from the doorway.

“Dogs are always the best. Other Tony won’t allow dogs in the tower, though.” Clio pouted, glancing up at Steve.

“This Tony doesn’t either. Didn’t stop Clint from bringing Lucky in, sitting firmly down on the floor with him and giving Tony the biggest puppy-eyes I have ever seen on a human. Lucky mirrored it and Tony gave in. Of course, it might have also had something to do with being so soon after the whole Loki thing and we all were doing our best to help him process it all. Lucky seemed to help him a lot with that.”

Clio flinched, “Loki got to other me, too, hu? I hope there’s at least one other me where he didn’t…” She sighed, shoving her face into Lucky’s fur.

“Sorry…”

She shrugged, “Bucky’s what helped me after all that...stayed by me enough to make me realize that he trusted me not to snap in a flash of blue and attack him, but he wasn’t pushy about it, either. Nat was there as well, of course, she’s my bestie, but because she and I had such a long history together, her showing me trust didn’t feel as comforting as when Bucky did it. Buck and I had barely started working together by the time Loki attacked New York. He had every reason not to trust me. But he said that if it were him, he’d appreciate anyone who didn’t give up on him, and that my anger and guilt over it all is understandable. He never made me feel pressured to just snap my fingers and be who I was before Loki again.”

Clio bit her lip and looked back up at Steve, “Thats why, when we found out about the other you...I told myself I’d not give up on him, just as Bucky didn’t give up on me. Steve has been going through something very similar that I had, for much, much longer. I think having someone who understands, truly understands, will help him heal once we manage to break through the programming Hydra put in his mind.”

“I never considered any of that.” Steve admitted, “I guess...I just thought that a link to Bucky’s past would be the only thing he needed once we get him out from under Hydra’s control… I thought I would be enough. That I’d just get my best friend back.”

“I don’t think anyone can live through being controlled and forced to commit crimes without it changing who they are. Don’t expect him to be who you remember. Your Bucky won’t be the same as what I know my Bucky is. Other Steve won’t be who you are. Both Winter Soldiers will have been changed, even more than I was changed. I was lucky. I’m still mostly me, but three days and nine and a half hours being brainwashed and mind-controlled is practically nothing compared to seventy years. Don’t expect the Bucky who enjoys going out dancing and trips to Coney Island. Give him space when he asks for it, and let him find himself. Some will be the Bucky you remember but there will be new things about him. Things that would never make sense in the old Bucky.”

Steve nodded, “I’ll...try my best. Going to be hard, though.” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Don’t give up on him.” Clio said, standing up and reaching out to touch Steve’s shoulder, “Bucky and I sure aren’t giving up on Steve.”

Steve shook his head and sighed, “How did that even happen? That Bucky’s and my fates were reversed?”

Clio hummed in thought as she walked over to the couch, brushing crumbs off onto the floor before plopping down, her legs crossed, though she had mind enough to settle her hands in her lap so that it held down the skirts of her dress, at least until Lucky hopped up and settled his head in her lap for her. Yup. Lucky was the best dog. She needed to find him in her own universe. Tony would just have to get used to it.

She gestured for Steve to sit, and he did, taking care not to sit on Lucky’s tail which was happily thumping on the far cushion—and then his lap once he was settled into place. He didn’t seem to mind it.

“I don’t know the whole story. Obviously my parents weren’t even around yet, after all, but how about you tell me your version and I can tell you where things differ?”

Steve shrugged, “It’s a pretty open history here, you know? I was a kid, overly eager to go help in the war efforts, especially after Bucky left. But I kept getting denied because of my health. But then I was chosen for project rebirth. Went in as a scrawny guy who could never find clothes that weren’t a little baggy on me, came out a guy who could barely find shirts that weren’t too small.”

“Ah, an issue you still are having, I see.” Clio teased, eyeing the way Steve’s t-shirt was stretched to its limit over his chest and shoulders.

“Aren’t you dating Bucky?”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what’s being shown off. Don’t worry, I’m only looking. No touchy.”

Steve chuckled and sighed, “I joined the war, led the Howling Commandos, watched Bucky fall off a train—I—I thought he died...until recently. I went on to crash into the ice where I was frozen and unaware of how much time was going by.”

Clio nodded, “In our timeline Bucky was chosen for Project Rebirth before he was shipped out. After you—Other Steve kept being a little shit—Bucky’s words—and trying to lie about his health issues so he could be accepted into the army, Bucky managed to get him included in Project Rebirth. They were both injected and came out looking like gods of muscle. Went to fight, Formed their team of Howling Commandos, and eventually, Steve was lost, fell off a train and down a cliff. Thought to be dead. Bucky went into the ice not long after.”

“Did we both use shields?”

“Nah, you were a sniper, Sergeant Rogers. To be honest, I kinda looked up to the comic book version of you because of that. Kinda have always wanted to test my skills against yours—his after finding out he’s still around. Bet my bow could kick his gun’s ass any day!”

Steve laughed, “I’d offer to take you down to the range, but the sniper here was Bucky.”

“Aw, you can’t even pretend in order to make a little girl’s dream come true?” Clio pouted at him.

“Wouldn’t be fair to that little girl, knowing that this version of me never had the skills the other version has.”

“Fiiiine. I guess I’ll have to wait for Other Steve.”

* * *

“I can’t believe I don’t have a dog here!” Clint whined, “How can I just— _not_ have Lucky?”

“Tony has a no-pets-allowed rule for the tower.” Bucky shrugged, pulling out a frozen pizza from Clio’s freezer.

“Sure, sure, so did the other Tony. He caved pretty quickly when I brought Lucky home with me. You should tell other-me that. She needs to know true love!”

“You do realize you’re talking to her boyfriend, right?”

“Sure, sure, boyfriends are great and all, but a dog’s love is unconditional and lasts a lifetime! It’s beyond romance, beyond friendship, and especially beyond family. It’s just—pure.”

“So your lover comes second to your dog?”

Clint shrugged, “Don’t have one. I’m a single pringle.”

“Uh—I don’t get that reference.” Bucky admitted, setting the timer for the pizza before moving to sit down on the couch next to Clint.

“That sounds like something Steve would say.”

“Steve thought fondue was a sex possition.” Bucky said blandly.

Clint blinked before his face broke out in an amused grin, “Fuck, really? Oh, I am never letting Steve live that down now! Next time he tells me to watch my language I’ll tell him to mind his _fondue_.”

“That doesn’t make as much sense as I think you think it does.” Bucky laughed, and Clint shrugged.

“So have you and other-me fondued?”

“We've been going steady for three years. She is you. Do you think we would have gotten this far without ‘fonduing’?”

“Nope, definitely would have fondued all over both our apartments...and maybe the range…”

“To name a few.”

“She’s lucky. I always fail at relationships.”

“You haven't met me yet.” Bucky shrugged.

Clint looked at him, questions written all over his face.

“You’re bi, right? Clio is.”

Clint nodded, “Yeah.”

Bucky shrugged, “I’m what the kids these days call pan. Maybe demi? I’m still trying to sort myself out after learning all these terms. But I know I’d love Clio no matter what her gender. Whether she is Clio or Clint, I wouldn’t care so long as she loves me back. And you know...she does look equally as stunning as a man. Those biceps are very tempting. And I think...the me in your timeline would grow to have these same feelings if given the chance.”

“But—he...he’s Hydra, and…”

“He’s the same as our version of Steve, right? The Winter Soldier?”

Clint nodded.

“And...okay, I know this is a hard subject, at least for Clio, but….Loki happened, right?”

Clint nodded again, tensing up at the reminder.

Bucky rested his hand on Clint’s knee, “Then I think you know a bit about what the other Bucky is going through. I think once he’s away from Hydra, you’ll be able to help him, along with Steve. I think knowing he’s not alone feeling what he’s feeling will help him realize that he can get better. That he can find himself again. Clio and I have talked about this same thing, in our plan to help Stevie. She’s pointed out things I would have never considered if it was just me trying to help Stevie. So at the very least, I think you could be a good friend to the other me. But also maybe something more later on. You’re a disaster, Clint, but that’s one of the things I love the most about you.”

“I’m not too annoying?”

“You’re the right kind of annoying.”

“Awe, that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Clint gushed.

Bucky snorted and nudged Clint just hard enough to topple him over sideways onto the couch cushion. “Dork.”

* * *

“You know you can’t take the dog back with you.” Steve said, looking down at Clio and Lucky, who hadn’t left her side at all, even following her down to Tony’s lab.

“Worth a try.” she grinned with a shrug.

“Clio, my dear, as cute as you are as a girl, my lab is still a no-pets-allowed zone!” Tony sighed, spotting them.

“Oh come on, you said you figured things out! I have so few precious minutes left with him! Let it be other-me’s problem when he’s back!”

The other man Clio didn’t know, Strange, was also there, standing next to the machine that had apparently switched her with her male counterpart. “I’ve analyzed the magic that interfered with this contraption and have wrecked out the magical half of reversing it. Stark has figured out the settings needed on the mechanical aspect.”

“Are you ready?” Tony asked, offering Clio his hand.

“Sure, why not? It’s a bit late to go out dancing like Bucky wanted for my birthday but I’d like to spend time with him at least.”

Tony and Steve blinked at her. “It’s your birthday?”

“Yes…” she said slowly, “What, don’t tell me no one knew?”

“I’m sure Natasha knows. But no, the rest of us were unaware.”

“That’s depressing.” She sighed, taking Tony’s hand so he could lead her over to where he wanted her to stand. “You should at least wish other-me a happy birthday. I’ve learned to enjoy the day in recent years, he should, too.”

“We’ll think of something.” Steve said, “Maybe I’ll bake a cake. Any suggestions on flavor?”

“Coffee. Or carrot—no raisins.” She suggested, “Assuming Clint’s tastebuds are the same as mine, of course. But it does seem we are in fact the same person, only different bits in our pants.”

Steve nodded, “I’ll see what I can come up with.”

Clio nodded and pet Lucky one last time before having him go off to Steve. Once she was done she straightened up and rocked from the heel of her feet to the balls and back, swinging her arms. “Okay, beam me up, Scotty.”

Tony started up the machine and Strange began to weave his magic into it, and Clio’s reflection began to form in front of her before morphing into Clint. He was taking a bite out of a slice of pizza before he seemed to notice her. She smiled, waved and reached forward as he did the same.

She was floating, not drowning as she knew what to expect, before the world snapped back into place and she tumbled over the back of the couch in her apartment.

“Clio?” Bucky stood over her, holding out a hand to help her back up.

“Oh thank goodness!” She jumped up, flinging her arms around him.

“You are late, you know.” Bucky chuckled, holding her close.

“Yeah, totally all Tony’s fault.” She pulled back to look up at him with a smile, “Did you have fun with Clint in my absence?”

“He says you need a dog.”

She laughed, “Yeah, I met his dog. No way am I not getting my own. Tony’ll just have to get used to the idea.”

She sighed, glancing around the room “It’s too late to go out dancing, but think we could dance here?”

“I don’t see why not. JARVIS, please let Tony know that Clio is back so he can stop trying to find out what the other Tony was doing to cause the switch. Also, some music, please.”

Soft tones started playing and he led her over to an open space to dance.

* * *

Clint found himself sitting on his ass in front of the machine in Tony’s lab, Lucky suddenly appearing and licking at his face before stealing the partial slice of pizza he had in his hand still. “Aw, Lucky, no...that was mine!”

“Good to have you back.” Steve said, offering a hand to help him up. “And I believe birthday wishes are owed.”

Clint flushed, “Not really...I mean, sure, but you don’t have to.” he took Steve’s hand and was hauled to his feet. “I have some ideas on how to get your best friend back.”

“So do I.” Steve nodded.

“Okay, okay, that’s all well and good, but no dogs in my lab!” Tony said, making a shooing motion. “And definitely no more magic!”

Strange shrugged, “That was an anomaly. Happened at random. If you would allow me to do so, I could place wards around your lab so that magic won’t be able to conduct within this space.”

Tony sighed and shrugged, “I suppose I can allow that much nonsense so there’s no more accidents like this.” he said as Clint, Lucky, and Steve walked out of the lab.

* * *

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
